


Approval

by Iaintnosidekick



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/M, Post-Relationship, Shovel Talk, Vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-24
Updated: 2017-10-24
Packaged: 2018-09-26 14:20:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9903554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iaintnosidekick/pseuds/Iaintnosidekick
Summary: While Kara and Mon-el are visiting Clark and Lois in Metropolis, Lillian Luthor visits her son Lex in prison in hopes to finally destroy the Kryptonians once and for all.





	1. Chapter 1

"Would you hold still?" Kara said before she finally got a hold of Mon-el's shirt collar.

"Maybe if you would just relax," he replied coolly as Kara smoothed down the flipped up edges. 

"This isn't that big of a deal Kara."  
Satisfied, Kara took a step back to admire her handy work. Mon-el was casually dressed in a navy button up and a pair of blue jeans which, even though they did make him look very nice, could not hide his annoyance at Kara. They had been trying to leave for the past thirty minutes, but every time Mon-el got one step out the door, Kara seemed to find another reason to rush right back in. 

"I know," she sighed while nervously eyeing the door. "But this is the first time Clark has seen us since the incident and you know how he gets. Not to mention so much has changed since then like…." 

"Us?" he finished making Kara go silent. He smiled at her before taking her hand. "Don't worry Kara. Your cousin likes me." 

"Yeah, but that was before we became a couple and…."

Kara was silenced by Mon-el leaning down and gently kissing her. The butterflies in her stomach immediately settled at his reassuring gesture, but she knew that it wouldn't be so simple to win over Clark. He may not have grown up on Krypton, but Kara knew that if he'd asked the fortress about Daxam, their parents probably wouldn't have anything nice to say. It was that sway that Kara was worried about. It was very hard to get back into Clark's good graces once you had stepped out of it. 

But… it was hard to worry with Mon-el's lips between hers. Kara could almost feel his confidence through them which was still new for Mon-el. Ever since they had become a couple, he had developed an air of royalty about him. His self-esteem had increased dramatically as he became more comfortable as a hero and as her significant other. It had taken a while sure, but Kara still couldn't help being proud of him. He enjoyed his job, he was amazing at planning dates, and he even had a few friends, not from the DEO. It was no wonder he was sure in his ability to win Clark's approval. 

Mon-el pulled back and tilted his gaze down at Kara. God, those eyes were powerful. He didn't have to say a word, and Kara instantly forgot her worries. There was no need to be anxious, right? It was Clark. If Mon-el was sure of himself, how could she not? It also wasn't like they really needed Clark's approval or anything.

"Can we get going now?" he asked smiling at her sudden release of body tension. 

Kara could only nod as she finally reached for her coat. She could feel him watching her triumphantly as she slipped it on and picked up her overnight bag. With one final sigh, she strutted past him and snatched his bag before he could follow. 

"Fine," she stopped at the door and glanced back at him. "But if you get stranded in China, I will not be rescuing you." 

Mon-el chuckled as he finally followed her out of the door. 

* * *

The visiting room was dim when Lillian Luthor stepped into it. It was in an older section of the prison, hardly ever used due to its distance from the main containment cells. It had an old, Mafioso charm to it that Lillian could appreciate considering the circumstances. It had used up a lot of her remaining resources just to get this far. Usually bribing her way to a meeting with a high-security prisoner would hardly be a challenge for the mischievous woman, but ever since her little fiasco with Supergirl, most of her assets had been completely dried up by either the government or her daughter. It was infuriating to be shut out by her own child, but she had to find out whether the other one could be just as foolish. 

Sitting across from the cramped table was Lex. Despite his orange prison wear, he still sat as if he was at the top of his high-rise building staring down at the glorious city he had built. Lillian had always appreciated the pride her son held for his work and his name. Unlike others in their family, Lex knew the power that came with the Luthor name and did not hesitate to use it to obtain his goals. Even imprisoned, Lex commanded so much respect by his mere presence that if Lillian was ever going to get what she wanted from him, she knew that she would have to match it. 

"Lex," she said, as she lowered herself into the seat across from him. "It's good to see you." 

"Hello mother," he replied not looking as enthused as his words would suggest. "I didn't expect to see you here." He cocked his head and narrowed his eyes. "At least not without any orange." 

Lillian ignored the contempt laced between Lex's words. "Well, I am nothing if not resourceful." 

"That's not what I heard," Lex countered, "Last I heard, Lena froze all of your accounts, and you've been on the run after your little war cry blew up in your face." 

A smile broke across Lillian's face. While it was obvious Lex was being hostile toward her, his knowledge confirmed her suspicion. He was not totally helpless locked up within his cell. 

"If you've been talking to your sister, then you also know that I was able to bring Supergirl down to an inch of her life."

"That's just it, Mother," he replied, no longer smiling. "That's all you did. You had a Kryptonian, Superman's cousin, chained up like a sacrificial lamb, and you didn't kill her." Lex crossed his arms as if disgusted. "You chose to indulge some heroic fantasy of a Daxamite and didn't even think to keep extra Kryptonite on hand in case the man in blue decided to join in on the rescue." 

Lillian's lips thinned. She didn't expect Lex to welcome her with open arms, but she had at least hoped he wouldn't be so degrading. Him, lecturing her about killing her enemies without stopping to enjoy the moment. He had never gotten as close as she had. The only thing Lex had ever gotten from Superman is an expulsion from their company and Kryptonite poisoning his veins. She thought he could at least appreciate the risk of confronting a Kryptonian and respect her attempts at ridding the planet of them for good. Perhaps he had grown too prideful. 

"You of all people should know the danger of having too much Kryptonite," she countered before enjoying the grimace on Lex's face. "Perhaps you should have diminished your supply."

Lex's irritation waned as he finally put the pieces together. "That's what you're doing here. You're out of Kryptonite."

Lillian smiled thinly. "Supply has been scarce as of late, but you know as much as I do that it is a vital piece in cleaning this planet of that alien filth." 

"You're insane if you think that's all you need to stop the Kryptonians," Lex scoffed. 

"You're right," Lillian dropped her harsh demeanor for just a moment as she readied Lex to be won over. Even if he was putting on a big show, she knew that just below the surface was still that little boy eager to please mommy. It didn’t matter how much powerful he’s gotten. "I need you, Lex. Your help. If we are ever going to destroy Supergirl and Superman, we need to work together. With both of our knowledge, we'll be able to save this planet once and for all." 

"I don't care about the planet, Mother."

“No, but there will be a power vacuum once the man of steel is gone. Someone is going to have to take his place." 

Lillian paused as Lex thought it over. She tried not to look too triumphant when he finally looked her in the eyes and sighed. 

"What exactly are you planning?"


	2. Chapter 2

Mon-el was absolutely terrified. 

From the moment Clark had invited them over for the weekend to the very moment he and Kara had arrived at the Metropolis train station, he had been more nervous than he had ever been in his entire life. Including back on Daxam. Back then the only approval he had ever worried about was his own. Life had been so much simpler back then when the girls he liked didn’t have the ability to snap him in half, let alone a cousin with the same powers but no particular fondness toward him. Mon-el had no doubt in his mind that Clark wouldn’t hesitate to melt him with his heat vision if he so much as looked at Kara the wrong way. The only thing that kept him calm was Kara’s equally nervous behavior. They may have been anxious for different reasons, but it was hard to see her so frazzled. He had hoped that keeping her calm would then help him stay calm.

But then Kara called out across the platform. 

“Clark!” she yelled suddenly very excited.

Through the thick crowd, Mon-el could just make out a very large man with jet black hair. His head swiveled at the sound of his name, and a huge smile broke out across his face when he spotted Kara. When he waved, Kara just about flew across the room leaving Mon-el to trail behind her. He had just broken through the sea of people in time to see her tackle her cousin with a tight bear hug. 

“Hey Kara,” he laughed as he returned the gesture. “It’s good to see you.”

“I’ve missed you,” she told him before letting go. She was smiling so hard Mon-el thought she would burst from pure happiness. “I thought you were going to check on me after what happened.”

“I know,” he shrugged seeming sorry, “Things get out of hand. You know, usual reporter stuff.” He winked at her before look up at Mon-el for the first time. “But I knew you were in good hands.”

‘Here we go’, Mon-el thought as he and the Kryptonian locked eyes. It was one thing to trick Kara into thinking he had unbound confidence, but it was another to keep it up while staring up at a tall, muscle-bound god. Even without the cape, Clark still looked like he could drop kick Mon-el all the way to the ocean. But, Mon-el knew how important this was for Kara. So, with a deep breath and a silent prayer, Mon-el put on a brave smile and held out his hand to the man of steel. 

“Hello, Mr. Kent.”

Clark smiled as he took Mon-el’s hand. “Good to see you again, Mon-el.”

“You too,” Mon-el said while trying to fight back the discomfort in his fingers. Clark’s grip was like an iron hammer threatening to shatter every bone in his hand to dust. He didn’t know if Clark had realized that Mon-el wasn’t as sturdy build as Kryptonians, but he tried to hide the pain through gritted teeth. When Clark finally let go, Mon-el had to use all of his willpower to hide his relief. In an attempt to distract himself, he added, “Thanks for inviting us.”

Instead of replying, Clark just nodded before looking back toward something. Slightly startled, Mon-el realized that there had been a woman standing next to Clark the entire time. She was pretty, about Kara’s height, and had jet black hair. Mon-el had just recalled Kara mentioning a girlfriend when Clark motioned back to him. 

“Lois, this is Mon-el,” Clark explained with a warm smile, “and Mon-el, this is my girlfriend Lois Lane.” 

The woman perked up and reached out her hand toward Mon-el. Her grip, while nowhere near Clark’s, was firm and her purple eyes never left Mon-el’s face as she spoke to him. 

“Good to meet you,” She said at an oddly fast pace, “Clark’s told me a lot about you.” 

Mon-el didn’t have enough time to process this bit of information before the woman let go of his hand and turned toward Kara. They both happily exchanged greetings and hugged before Lois flashed a smile back at Clark. 

“So, are we all just going to stand here all night?” 

“Oh, right,” Clark actually looked disheveled as he picked up one of Kara’s bags. “Let’s just-” 

When Clark suddenly stopped speaking, Mon-el glanced at Kara who seemed to also have frozen. Her eyebrows had knitted together, and with a tilt of the head, Mon-el realized that she was listening to something. Mon-el was just about to focus on his own hearing when Clark reached for his glasses and pulled them off. 

“There’s a car chase going North on 8th,” he said as he slipped off Kara’s bag. To his surprise, Clark held out the bag to Mon-el with one hand while fiddling with his shirt button with the other. “I have to take care of it. Can you make sure Lois gets home safe?” 

Taking the bag, Mon-el nodded. Surprised, he looked toward Kara hoping for some assurance but instead saw she was handing him her other bag. 

“I’m coming too,” she said, more to Clark than Mon-el. 

Mon-el took her bag and watched as both the Kryptonians exchanged a look before taking off toward an alley. After they had disappeared behind the wall, two caped figures shot across the sky toward the city’s skyscrapers. 

“Typical.”

Mon-el looked down to see that Lois had moved to stand directly in front of him. Instead of watching their significant others speed off faster than a speeding bullet, she was studying him with a slight head shake. 

“He always ends up racing off whenever we have plans,” she explained as she smiled thinly at him. “I don’t know how we’re actually going to do anything with two of them.”

Mon-el smiled at Lois before adjusting his increased bag load. Lois sighed and took a bag before continuing the walk into the city. 

“I have a feeling we’re going to be spending a lot of time together this weekend.”

* * *

Lillian sat brooding as she watched the workmen handle the crate. The salt from the water around her sizzled against her skin as the ocean lapped against the dock’s aged posts. She had been watching these idiots handle her equipment for the past hour, and they were still bumbling around like hopeless children. It pained her so to be disconnected from her Cadmus resources. She even missed Henshaw and his unorthodox but effective way of motivating their men. His skill with making sure all of Lillian’s plan ran smoothly had been more of a comfort than she had realized. Without him, she feared she was becoming a bit rash. Her nerves were on edge constantly. The slightest annoyances would send her over the edge which was why she was keeping her distance. She couldn’t deal with those fools right now. Not when Lex’s words were still burning against her mind. 

The woman shuddered at the mere memory. She had finally gotten through to him. With her entire plan laid out on the table, Lex was finally going to give her everything she wanted when his amusement disappeared. 

“This is quite a plan you’ve concocted, Mother,” his said with as much warmth as a glacier. “If but a little simple.” 

Lillian had frowned. “That’s why it will work. It plays to our enemies weaknesses.” 

“I agree,” Lex’s previously calm demeanor was suddenly laced with surprising hostility. “But that is not why I am going to help you.” 

While she was pleased to hear his words, Lex’s crossed arms lessened Lillian’s feeling of victory. “They why is it, Lex?”

“Because this is your last chance.” 

Lillian was so shocked, she couldn’t form any words before Lex continued. 

“You’ve tarnished our name, Mother. You’ve destroyed the last shred of dignity the Luthor name had with your pitiful war against the aliens.”

Lex leaned against the table and each word hit Lillian like a bullet. 

“I’m going to help you because right now, as you are, you do not deserve the Luthor name.”

A loud noise from the warehouse broke Lillian out of her thoughts. Her sour mood was not helped when she saw that it had been the sound of a crate smashing open. 

“Be careful with that!” she snapped from across the pavement. 

Someone called back an apology, but Luthor was still inches away from throwing all of them into the harbor. She was just about to stalk over to them when she saw the contents spill out onto the ground. Even if she was mad at her son, she couldn’t be upset at the fact he still delivered on his promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! I'm so glad you're all enjoying this! This has been really fun for me to write and it has been even more fun to talk to some of you about it:) Just a quick note, I've decided to base this fic off of an episode of Superman the animated series. That show has defined many of these characters for me so if your confused about how I'm depicting the metropolis characters I'd suggest checking out an episode or two. Thanks for all the support!


	3. Chapter 3

There was something oddly satisfying about a speeding car crashing against Kara’s outstretched hand. She didn’t know if it was the crunch of the metal as she greatly misshaped the hood or the feeling that rippled through her body as it was able to absorb the extreme force in such a short amount of time. It was exhilarating, to say the least. Not to mention the look on the driver’s face once they recovered from the initial shock. It was always the exact same one. Something along the lines of ‘I have made a huge mistake’. It never failed to make Kara smile.

After the car was stopped, it didn’t take long for the police to catch up. Clark had just handed over the perps to an officer when a short, grizzled man walked up to them.

“Need a little help with this one, Sups?”

Clark laughed at the old detective. Kara was taken back slightly by man’s clear disdain. He was glaring at Clark from underneath thick eyebrows that nearly met in the middle when they narrowed to match his mood. The man couldn’t have been more than an inch taller than Kara, but he had such a pompous air about him that his size hardly seemed to matter when his gaze turned to Kara. She could visibly watch him look her over before his already intense frown deepened. Apparently, he was not impressed.

“Detective Turpin,” Clark greeted, apparently unaffected by the man’s mood. “This is my cousin Supergirl.”

“Yeah, I know who she is,” Turpin snapped, still inspecting Kara for something, “You here for some sightseeing, or are you just going to follow this loser around for the weekend?”

Despite the hostile tone, Kara found herself letting out a chuckle. It was a kind of comical to see such a small man talk to her cousin with such disregard to his physicality. “I’m just here to help.”

The man snorted with a thin smirk creeping across his face. “Yeah, well, try not to put too many holes in my city okay?”

“We’ll do our best,” she assured now with a genuine smile toward the Detective.

With a quick chuckle, Clark leaped up into the air and Kara followed. 

They were zooming across the skyline when she called out to Clark.

“Do you think Mon-el and Lois will be back yet?”

“Oh yeah,” Clark replied, “Lois has a way of getting around quickly. I swear, the moment I look away, she gets super speed or something.”

Kara laughed as they zipped between two buildings. It was such a beautiful city. The sun was just beginning to dip behind the skyscrapers which set the sky ablaze in gradients of red. These colors reflected off the glass buildings with such intensity it made the entire city shine like a star. How anyone could see under such harsh lighting Kara could only guess, but nevertheless, it was breathtaking to behold. She suddenly wished she could show this view to Mon-el

“I feel kind of bad for leaving Mon-el,” Kara confessed as Clark began to slow down above his apartment building. “I usually bring him along for these types of things.”

“Mon-el understands,” Clark assured just before he ducked onto his balcony. “And I’m sure Lois is being a good host.”

Kara had only just walked into Clark’s apartment when she spotted Mon-el standing in front of an oven holding a casserole dish. The kitchen couldn’t have been any further than ten yards away, but Kara couldn’t believe she was seeing Mon-el wearing large red oven mitts as he lifted what looked like a lasagna up out of the oven and placed it on the counter. He was so focused on the task, he didn’t even notice Kara staring at him like some oddity in a museum. Mon-el… Cooking?

“Hey, guys.”

Kara’s attention was pulled away as Lois greeted them from her bar stool. She didn’t even notice that the reporter was also watching Mon-el from the breakfast bar and lounging across two of the seats. Mon-el looked up once he had set down the dishware and gave Kara a goofy smile. Kara had to cover her mouth to keep in her laughter.

“Putting our guest to work?” Clark asked before continuing into his home.

“He offered,” Lois countered before flashing a mischievous smile at him.

Clark only rolled his eyes before leaning down to give her a real quick peck on the lips. It was really cute for Kara to watch her cousin’s macho Superman persona melt back down to Clark Kent. Everything about him would change, from the way he carried himself to the amount of strength he displayed. While he was always put forth a very confident act when he wore the cape, Kara could see that Clark was always a little uncomfortable with displaying his powers if he wasn’t busy using them to save the day. In fact, the more time she spent with her cousin, the more Kara realized that, while she felt more herself as Supergirl, he seemed to be more of himself as Clark Kent.

“As long as it’s not too much trouble for him,” Clark said when he looked up at Mon-el.

“Oh, of course,” Mon-el told him through a wide smile. Clark didn’t seem to notice, but Kara thought Mon-el’s movements were more rigid than usual. “It’s no problem at all.”

Clark nodded at him, before looking back at Lois. She was grinning at him, apparently amused by simply watching him. Kara thought she was going to kiss him again when Lois’s head suddenly swiveled to look at Kara.

“Kara, Mon-el put your bags in the guest room if you want to change.”

It was such a simple sentence. Completely harmless. But there was just something about it. It seemed… intentional. Despite this, Kara still smiled and said, “Alright. I’ll be right back.”

“Oh right,” Clark said stopping Kara mid-step. “I forgot to ask you. Uh….”

As Clark’s sentence trailed off, his face morphed into what she could only describe as pure discomfort. He couldn’t make eye contact with her as he rubbed his head and instead watched the floor. It took him a solid ten seconds before he could attempt to form words through his awkward body language.

“Do- Do you and Mon-el… I mean it’s big enough. But… uh”

Desperate, Clark looked at Lois for support who only smiled as she enjoyed him being flustered. Kara likewise, glanced at Mon-el who seemed to be just as confused as her. He had just managed to pop an eyebrow when Clark finally put forth a question.

“Are you two okay in the guest room together? Or, I mean, do you….”

Kara’s face could have rivaled the color of Krypton’s sun. All of her previous confusion was immediately converted into embarrassment as she finally realized what he was asking. She hadn’t even thought about it until that moment, nor would she have even thought to ask Mon-el about it. Despite all of her worry and anxiety, Kara hadn’t even considered the sleeping arrangements.

“Oh, no!” Kara blurted out with more force than she had intended. “I mean, we don’t… It’s not like….”

“No,” Mon-el interjected as her words dried up worse than Clark. Kara glanced at him, silently thanking him for speaking up, but all of his previously the unyielding confidence had completely disappeared as he began to ramble just as bad as the other aliens. “I mean, it isn’t like I would mind it but- I mean.”

“It’s fine,” Kara said before quickly thinking of all the wrong ways Clark could take that, “Unless you would prefer-”

Everyone went silent when a chuckle came out of Lois. They all looked at the woman who was just leaning against the bar enjoying the extreme discomfort that had tainted the air around them. She was smiling wickedly at no one in particular before deciding to glance up at Mon-el with genuine pity.

“I’ll make up the couch.”

Everyone sighed as if a bomb had been diffused. Kara didn’t know who looked more relieved. Clark looked as if he was two more seconds away from passing out, but Mon-el physically had turned the color of chalk. She could only imagine that she looked the same as her face slowly drained of heat and a nervous laugh rose deep from within her soul. She even reached up to fix her glasses which weren’t even there.

“Right, okay,” she said as she took a step toward the guest room. “I’m just going to go….”

“Yeah, me too,” Clark agreed before literally flying away toward his bedroom.

Kara couldn’t blame him though as she raced toward the comfort of her civilian clothes. She had just closed the door when she heard Lois ask Mon-el about the forgotten lasagna.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh I had so much fun writing this one! XD The sweat discomfort of three aliens being enjoyed by a Lois just gave me so much joy. Also, if you didn't pick it up, that was Detective Turpin mostly as he is seen in the animated series. I was going to have them talk to his partner but then I remembered that in the show that's Maggie! Anyway, hope you liked it. Sorry if the next chapter will be a little slow in going up (I got a physiology test that I NEED to pass). Thanks again for all your love! ^.^


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, Mon-el woke up to the smell of powerful coffee. The morning sun was pouring right on top of the groggy Mon-el, clearly not caring that he couldn’t have gotten any more than four hours of sleep that night. But it wasn’t the large living room window’s fault. No, what kept him just on the brink of sleep for the majority of the night was the distracting consistency of the couch. Clark and Lois seemed to be into some type of Ultra-modern furnishing because while it looked like something from a ritzy Cat Co. magazine, it felt like old, bundled socks thrown together inside of a leather bag. Mon-el was sure that there had to be some way to position himself that would at least make the night bearable, but in the end, he had only fallen asleep due to the exhaustion of trying.

“Morning, Mon-el.”

He opened his eyes to see Kara peeking over the top of the couch with a huge smile on her face. Despite the pinch in his lower back, he still found himself sheepishly smiling back at her. That guest bed must have been heavenly because Kara was shining brighter than the sun that illuminated her from behind. It could have just been the halo the light cast around her golden hair, but Kara just radiated excitement as she ran her fingers through Mon-el’s matted hair in an attempt to stir him from his cramped corner of the couch.

“How’d you sleep?” She asked unaware of the discomfort.

Mon-el let out a long yawn as he forced himself to sit up and stretch. The kink in his back complained at the movement, but Mon-el was not going to risk Kara losing that beautiful smile, so he grit his teeth and replied to Kara as casually as he could.

“Just fine.” He looked back as she leaned against the back of the couch to now be eye level with him. Those big blue eyes were singing with joy as they studied his. Mon-el could never get tired of watching those crystal orbs study every little detail as if she had only just arrived on this planet. However, she was watching him so closely Mon-el was afraid she would notice his stiffness so he added, “How was the guest bed?” 

As expected, Kara averted her eyes at the memory of last night. She was still so flustered, in fact, that she stood up in an attempt to hide the blush beginning to kiss her cheeks. “It was nice,” she told him before retreating back toward the breakfast bar.

With a small chuckle, Mon-el unwrapped himself from the thin blanket Lois had given him and followed Kara. She sat down on one of the stools while he went to search for the source of the caffeinated air. He had just found the pot when Lois turned into the room.

“Morning,” she groaned before plopping next to Kara. “Clark make the coffee yet?”

“I think so,” Mon-el said, surprised she couldn’t smell its bitter touch in the room.

“Mugs are in the cabinet,” she managed to say before dropping her head onto the counter.

Kara laughed while Mon-el realized was Lois was saying. He opened the brown cabinet directly above the coffee maker only to find a number of mismatched mugs of a variety of colors.

“Still a little tired?” Kara teased.

Mon-el settled on two large red mugs and one blue one and set them down on the counter.

“Saturdays are usually my day to sleep past noon,” Lois said through her black hair sprawled out all over the counter. “But Clark’s Kansas clock made sure I was up bright and early today.”

When he began pouring out the metal pot, Mon-el couldn’t believe the deep black color that came out. He may not have been around much coffee beyond the extremely creamy kind Kara likes, but even that tended to be browner than this dark void liquid.

“I thought you were going to stay here while Clark shows us around the Daily Planet?”

With the two cups, Mon-el turned to the two woman. “Lois, do you have any creamer?”

Seemingly enthused by this question, Lois picked up her head and sleepily smiled at the drink in his hand. “Yeah, Clark keeps it in the fridge but that’s good for me.”

Carefully, Mon-el held up the warm mug up to Lois who took it with a new giddiness. Deciding not to question the woman’s taste in coffee, Mon-el began to search for the remaining necessities for Kara’s and his.

“I actually got a tip about a businessman stopping by Metropolis for the weekend,” Lois continued with more energy after a couple of sips. “I wanted to ask him some question before he leaves on Sunday.”

“Good morning, everyone.”

Mon-el nearly dropped the carton of cream as Clark’s bellowing voice boomed across the kitchen. He immediately forgot about the pain in his back as his startled heart beat it back into place. It wasn’t like Clark had spoken that loud at all, but Mon-el was taken so off guard by his presence that Mon-el’s chest began to demand more air before he could regain his composure. With a thinly pleasant expression, Mon-el turned back to return the greetings but instead found Kara giving him a questioning look.

“Be careful with that stuff. Lois likes her coffee with more punch than all of us combined.”

It took a solid two seconds for Mon-el to realize that he was talking to him. Trying desperately not to be caught flustered under Clarks possibly dangerous gaze, Mon-el pushed the largest smile his face would allow and let out the most convincing laugh he could manage.

“Yeah,” Mon-el chuckled while awkwardly glancing at the two remaining cups on the counter. “It’s uh… it’s very dark.”

The silence that followed was only broken by a small laugh from Lois. It was so quiet that a normal human probably wouldn’t have heard it, but the now awkward alien could have heard a pin drop after his unintelligent remark. Mon-el wanted nothing more than to crawl within himself and disappear from the world entirely.

However, Clark seemed wholly oblivious to Mon-el’s inner turmoil as he gave the room a smile and turned his attention to the newly awakened Lois. “So, where is your interview today?”

“It’s over by the docks,” she said with a shrug. “Bibo’s going to meet me there.”

“Bibo.” Despite that name have no meaning for Mon-el, he could plainly see Clark’s present demeanor press down into concern. “Bibo’s your source.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“No, but he’s left you out to dry plenty of times.”

“I’ll be fine, Clark,” Lois assured while flashing a wide smile at him. “It’s not like you can go with me anyway.”

Just as Mon-el finally handed Kara her cup, Clark made direct eye contact with him. Mon-el froze as Clark’s blue eyes bore into his head as if he was using his heat vision. Clark wasn’t mad per se, but Mon-el could see a sudden burst of worry paint the Kryptonian's face like a spray can. It dawned on Mon-el that Clark wasn’t looking at him in an accusing manner, but with a silent plea.

“I can go with you,” Mon-el blurted out.

The three eyes that stared at him ranged from pleased, relieved, and shocked.

“What?” Kara said an octave above her normal tone. “But you were going to come with Clark and me to the Planet.” 

“Aw, Mon-el doesn’t want to go to some stuffy newsroom,” Lois interjected before Mon-el could put his words together. He also couldn’t help but notice a smug look cross the woman’s face as she spoke. “It’s still reporter work.”

“Sure you don’t mind Mon-el?” Clark asked with a thick overtone of relief.

“I, uh-” Mon-el’s ears felt like they were going to burst off of his head his blood was pumping so fast. He couldn’t think. He couldn’t breathe. Everyone’s eyes were on him, and the only coherent thought that he could form was that he didn’t want to mess up Kara’s weekend. She was just so happy around her cousin, and Mon-el didn’t think he could forgive himself if he ruined one of the few times they go to see each other. Going with Lois would give them more time to hang out together right? He’d just bog down their reporter speech and slow down whatever it is they do. They’d have more fun without him. “Yeah, you two go ahead.”

Whatever relief Mon-el felt after Clark gave him a thanking smile was immediately lost when he looked back at Kara. Her fingers were tightly wrapped around her mug, not unlike her eyebrows which narrowed her eyes.

“Mon-el,” she said in a syrupy sweet voice. “Can you help me in the guest room real quick?”

It may have sounded like an innocent question, but Mon-el had to force himself from gulping. He could only nod before following Kara past Clark who Lois had begun distracting with some form of news talk. They seemed entirely oblivious to the panic that twisted inside of Mon-el as Kara carefully closed the bedroom door behind them.

“You lied to me.”

It took a while for Kara’s words to organize into a sentence for Mon-el. Somewhere back in the kitchen, he had decided that Kara was going to be upset he didn’t want to go, but her words didn’t seem to fit that situation.

“What?” he stammered before sitting down on the edge of the guest bed. “I didn’t-”

“Okay, you didn’t lie exactly,” she corrected before taking a couple of steps back from him. “But you made me think you were totally calm about this weekend!”

Kara began pacing the small space between the bedroom door and the bed, so Mon-el sat down on it to give her as much room as possible. Her eyes had found the ceiling as she ran her hands through her hair to pull back her hair and expose every thought that ran across her face. Mon-el couldn’t decide if she looked more angry, frustrated, or amazed.

“Last night at dinner, even at the train station… I thought it was just the trip but,” her eyes brightened when epiphany struck, and she spun to face Mon-el with an accusing finger. “You’re scared of Clark.”

“What!?” Mon-el stood up with a sudden boldness, “I am not afraid of Clark.”

“Yes you are!” she shot back before quickly lowering her voice again. “You have been nothing but an angel from the moment we got here, and now you’re going to play bodyguard just because he asked you to.”

“What if I’m just trying to be a good guest?” Mon-el countered as he side-stepped her to avoid her harsh glare. “Earth is still kind of new to me, and maybe I am just trying not to offend him.”

“Oh please,” Kara laughed with a sweeping hand motion. “You’re too inconsiderate to-“

“Inconsiderate!?”

“Yes, Mon-el,” Kara stuck her finger square in the center of his chest and nearly stabbed him with every word she spoke. “You are inconsiderate and so self-absorbed about what Clark thinks about you that you don’t even want to spend our vacation with me.”

Whatever Mon-el was going to say evaporated at the end of Kara’s sentence. Her eyes had softened and were now firmly locked onto his. She wasn’t mad anymore. The swell of emotions that Mon-el had witnessed earlier had melted away into something far worse than anger. Kara wasn’t angry at him. She was disappointed.

“I’m sorry, Kara,” he said for probably the thousandth time in his life. “I just wanted this weekend to be perfect for you.”

She studied him for a moment. Probably deciding whether or not she believed him. It was only then that Mon-el realized how close they were. It had become a habit of theirs. To slowly gravitate toward each other with no conscious effort. At times when tensions were high, Mon-el used to think that it was their body’s way of contradicting the harsh words that may have escaped their lips, but this time he forced himself to hold his position.

“You bottling up your fears isn’t going to help anyone, Mon-el,” she sighed with a slight drift of her eyes. “You have to be honest to me about these things.”

“I will,” Mon-el answered probably too quickly.

Kara gave him a small smile before drifting away from him. “Go get ready. You don’t want to make Lois late for her interview.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO SORRY. This took way to long to finish. Life just got hard all of the sudden and my muse suffered severely. I hope I never take that long to upload again but I can't promise anything consistent either. But bear with me guys because despite all of that I still REALLY enjoy writing for you all! Next chapter will be some fun cousin stuff and then the plot will catch back up to our space puppies ^.^


	5. Chapter 5

“Welcome to the Daily Planet!”

Clark’s overly enthusiastic voice was nearly enough to forget all of Kara’s worries as she stepped through the elevator door. The smell of newsprint, ink, and sweat almost made her forget Mon-el and their fight that morning. The entire room had such a loud buzz to it that she almost forgot about how empty her hand felt just swinging at her side.

Almost.

“I know the décor is nothing compared to Cat Co.,” Clark continued when Kara remained noticeably silent, “But I’m sure you recognize the overall atmosphere of a newsroom.”

Oh, Kara did. Areas like these always had a panicked undertone as at least one person was nearing their deadline and their story was still a page short. Everyone was rushing through the desks like obstacles in a game where their objective was the printing machine. Those not partaking in the mad dash, sat like stone statues in front of their computers waiting for inspiration to strike. The lucky ones were hunched over their keyboards, typing furiously until they had run their own thoughts dry. Sure, it may not look much like Cat Co., but it still felt like home to Kara.

“It’s amazing,” she said to Clark with a warm smile.

He smiled back before motioning for Kara to follow him further into the dingy room. They skirted around the edge to avoid the central mess until Clark paused in front of one of the desks by the window. It wasn’t any fancier than the other workspaces within the room, but Kara couldn’t help but smile at the window’s view.

“This is my desk,” Clark announced with pride in his voice. He looked at it for a moment before nodding back to the other desk graced by the window’s presence. “That one’s Lois’.”

“You both get a window,” she remarked as she inspected the contents of the wood top.

“Not at first,” Clark chuckled as he drifted down memory lane, “My first desk was right next to Perry’s door. If I wasn’t so thick-skinned, I probably would have died from getting hit with it so much.”

Kara couldn’t help smile giddily as she picked up one of the pictures on his desk. Clark was a huge sentimentalist, so it wasn’t surprising that his work space would be littered with pictures, his writing awards, and a couple of knick-knacks. Compared to the fortress, his desk was rather tame. The picture she was currently holding was an action shot that she quickly recognized.

“James took this,” she stated before gently handing it back to Clark.

“Yep,” he confirmed while he glanced over the photo. “He gave it to me when he told me he was moving to National City.”

Kara smiled at the thought of James and continued to study the other pictures Clark found worthy of his desk. Of course, there was one with him and Lois at what must have been a park, but she was surprised to see her face in one of them.

“When was this?” she asked while pointing at the photo of her and Clark taking a selfie in front of some building she couldn’t make out.

“That’s from the last time I visited you,” he told her happily. “It was the only picture we took without any red in it.”

“Kent!”

Suddenly, Clark’s eyes widen as a large man approached him from behind. It wasn’t that the man was particularly big, he definitely wasn’t any bigger than Clark, but the way everyone moved as he passed was as if he was composed of twice as much body mass. Even in such a busy work environment, every single person moved out of their way to give this man a wide path to walk through even if it meant ducking into someone else’s space until he had passed. She even noticed a few people look over with wide eyes matching Clark’s. Kara was immediately reminded of Cat.

“Did you send in that paper yet?” the man bellowed despite Clark only being a couple of feet in front of him.

“Yes, Mr. White, my email should have been sent by now.”

Kara nearly gasped as she realized who she was looking at. Perry White. The Daily Planet’s own editor and chief. He definitely carried himself like Cat, but with a little less finesse. This man seemed more stern and blunt than Kara’s old boss, however, there was no mistaking the demanding presence he cast over the newsroom.

“Send it again,” he ordered apparently not pleased, “And tell your girlfriend I want that new lead of hers printed for Monday’s paper.”

“Yes, sir,” Clark told him before plopping down at his desk. “I’ll send it now.”

Mr. White looked down at Clark pleased before looking up at Kara for the first time. “Who are you?”

Despite this guy only looking at her half-interestedly, Kara put on her biggest smile and held out her hand. “Kara Danvers. I’m Clark’s cousin.”

He shook her hand and narrowed his eyes before inspecting her. “Yeah, I’ve heard of you.” He leaned back to cross his arms. “You’re Cat’s little protégée.”

Kara only nodded the editor’s thin remark. She wasn’t sure of he and Cat’s relationship except that they had to at least be competitors. “Yes, I’m also reporter now”

The man actually laughed. “Oh, I know. Snapper must love you. You’re like his own Clark, but instead of Superman, you use Supergirl for all of your sources.” He cocked his head to the side as his smile widen. “You ever think of writing real news, sweetie?”

Kara didn’t know how to respond to that. She stood dumbfounded as she tried to decipher what in the world this man had said to her. Thankfully, Clark pressed one more key with clear emphasis before turning around in his chair.

“It has been sent, Mr. White,” he announced happily below his standing boss.

“Good.” Mr. White took a step back toward the other desks before nodding at Kara one last time. “See you around, Danvers.”

Clark said something to Kara as she watched Mr. White walk back into his office still wondering what had just happened. She looked at Clark as he stood up from his chair.

“I think Perry White just offered me a job.”

Apparently recovered from Perry’s presence, Clark let out a little chuckle. “Maybe. It’s kind of hard to read that man.”

* * *

Lois must like a lot of intense smells because the dock’s air was as salty as her apartment had been caffeinated. Mon-el almost thought he was developing an enhanced sense of smell. Lois led him across the cluttered shoreline like the area’s fragrances weren’t violently assaulting her nose. It took a good chunk of his effort not to pinch his nostrils shut in hopes for some relief. It was bad, but there was a part of him that knew it wasn’t the really smell bothering him. That maybe it was just the fact he had put himself in a position to smell it.

“Bibo should be just ahead,” Lois told him over the sound of crates crashing onto a ship deck.

Mon-el acknowledged her as they continued to weave through the busy area. Ships were getting docked and loaded everywhere he looked and with that they brought loud noises. Machines were buzzing back and forth with crates, and their beeps only echoed back into Mon-el’s ears off of the warehouse’s stone wall so that he could hear them twice. That’s not even mentioning the smell of fish, which only left the air when the gulf blessed them with a breeze. The whole area was an overload of senses, and Mon-el had to focus on Lois just to make it through. Eventually, the noise did dim as they left the densest sections and found themselves on the far, less used area of the docks.

“There he is,” Lois announced with a point of a finger. Mon-el followed it to see a grizzly looking sailor, hiding within the shadow of an alley wall. 

“You sure?” Mon-el asked, not really liking the look of the man.

“Oh yeah,” she nodded before speeding up her pace. “By the way, do you have any cash?”

Mon-el dug into his pocket to pull out a five from his wallet, which Lois snatched up with hardly a ‘thank you’.

“Hey, Bibo!”

The man looked up from his pipe and gave them a big toothy grin. “Hey, Miss Lane. Who’s your friend?”

“He’s my bodyguard,” Lois retorted without missing a beat. “You get anything for me about that warehouse?”

“Oh, yeah,” Bibo said after assessing Mon-el for a moment. “I tell ya, it’s been empty for years. Don’t think I’ve ever seen it used all my life, and then yesterday… Boom! One of the busiest buildings in the yard.”

Lois nodded, seemingly excited by this news. “Who owns the dock?”

“Some company I never heard of,” he admitted with a shrug. “But I was sure I saw somebody with a gun walking around it every few minutes.”

“Great,” Lois smiled before handing Bibo the money Mon-el had just given her. “Thanks, Bibo.”

“Anytime Miss Lane,” he grinned before holding the bill up to the light. “You just be careful, okay?”

“Of course,” Lois told him before grabbing one of Mon-el’s arms. “That’s what he’s here for.”

Lois dragged Mon-el out of the alley and headed even further away from civilization.

“Was he the person you needed to interview?” Mon-el asked once Lois had let go of his elbow.

“Nope,” she replied while not making eye contact. “That person’s going to be a little harder to get to.”

Mon-el was just about to ask what she meant when she suddenly stopped in front of one of the warehouses. Specifically, they had stopped in front of one of the back metal doors to a very old looking warehouse. It must have been the building Bibo was talking about though because he could hear a bunch of movement inside the door and through the halls within. It wasn’t as loud as the other dock noises, but it was definitely enough to raise Mon-el suspicions. That and the fact Bibo mentioned guns.

“I’m starting to think this person doesn’t know you’re coming,” Mon-el told Lois who had started to inspect a heavy duty lock and chain around the door’s handle.

“If they catch us, they’ll be happy enough to see me,” she said before looking back at Mon-el with an exaggerated smile. “But first, I need you to break this lock.”

“I-” Mon-el lost all function of words for the third time that day. He looked down at the woman and was completely astonished by how smug she suddenly looked. “You- you brought me here to help you break into this building?”

“Well, I knew I wouldn’t have enough time to pick the lock myself,” she explained with a motion toward the front of the building.

“Lois!” he wanted to scream, but managed to keep his voice leveled, “Do you know how mad Clark would be if he knew I helped you break into a sketchy looking warehouse? I am already in trouble with Kara. I don’t want to have two Kryptonians ready to drop me into the middle of the ocean.”

Instead of backing down, Lois placed her hands on her hips and sighed. “Mon-el, you really need to stop worrying about Clark.” When Mon-el looked at her surprised, she only laughed guiltily at him. “Look, you obviously have been worried about not upsetting Clark, which… I may or may not have used to get a super-powered alien to help me with this lead. But you made it too easy to do.”

“You-” Mon-el nearly gasped. “I did not.”

“Yes, you did,” Lois protested, “You’ve been walking around Clark like stepping on eggshells, so much that I’m guessing Kara picked up on it.”

Mon-el bit back the hard remark building behind his lips.

Lois sighed at his silence. “Look, Mon-el I know Clark. Very well. He doesn’t care who you are or where you’re from. You’re good to Kara and that’s all he really cares about.” When she paused, Mon-el watched her take a step closer toward him. “He’s not going to throw you into the sun if you mess up what he likes in his coffee.”

Her warm smile made Mon-el feel a little better. He honestly couldn’t believe how well she had read him. He was beginning to wonder if he was such an open book to everyone. Apparently not to Clark, but definitely to Kara. Kara was the expert on him.

“But…” Suddenly Lois’s smile was gone and replaced by a flashy grin before she dropped the lock into his hand, “He might be a little upset if you let me go into this building alone.”

With a sigh and a long eye roll, Mon-el tightened his grip on the lock and easily pulled it off the chain. Lois gave him a satisfied gleam before untangling the rest of the metal and opening the door. It was noticeably dark inside, but Lois pushed forward without a second thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know why but I just really love the idea of Lois and Mon-el working together ^.^ I hope you liked this longer chapter (Had to put the beginning of 6 in here because the Daily Planet scene wasn't long enough), and don't hesitate to comment. Just let me know what you like, what you didn't, and maybe some suggestions moving forward (story and writing wise). Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

Mon-el found himself in a dirty hallway. It wasn’t wide enough for him and Lois to walk side by side, so he had to follow the edge of her silhouette as they crept across the dingy floor. The only light was from the opening at the end where the hall stopped abruptly. Though he couldn’t see what it flowed into, he could hear the now-familiar sound of machinery.

“So what are we doing here really?” he whispered, being extra careful not to let his voice echo.

“This warehouse is owned by a shell company of Lex corps,” Lois answered, “If it’s being used, Lex is definitely up to his to something.”

“You mean Lena’s brother?” Mon-el asked before putting his back against the inside wall after she did. They were nearing the end of the hall which he could now see opened into the building’s main hanger. “I thought he was in prison.”

Lois inched her way to where the wall dropped off and looked back at him. “Lena may run the company, but Lex hasn't given up all of his power.”

Mon-el could only nod before she edged her head around to survey the area. He could now clearly hear the sound of metal clanking against harder surfaces and a couple of voices shouting orders. Though he couldn’t make out much over the drone of machinery creaking and gears crashing, he knew that they weren’t simply loading up crates like the other docks they had passed.

Lois reached her hand back and grabbed Mon-el’s arm again before suddenly pulling them completely into the light. It blinded him for a second, but Lois’s grip flawlessly directed him out and behind a large crate he had not seen. Once oriented, he stuck his head around the side to see that the wide room they were in. It wasn’t as grand as the warehouse Luther had taken Kara to, but it was large enough to keep them a sizable distance from the center. There were a few mechanics inspecting a large object sitting in the center which Mon-el couldn’t name. Around them stood a couple of armed guards, and from a glance, he identified the ceiling’s catwalk perimeter. The hanger door was wide open on the far side wall, revealing a view of the harbor.

“That can’t be good,” Lois remarked.

Mon-el saw her staring at the central device and gave it a second glance. The design kind of reminded him of the things on top of electricity poles, but that didn’t help him guess what it did. It didn’t look very impressive though. Nothing compared to some of the crazy villain stuff he’d seen with Kara. It almost looked… normal.

There was a tiny cracking noise that caused Mon-el to look back at the hall they came from. He realized that there was someone coming and that he had to think fast. No one was looking their way, so he looked up to see the caged catwalk was fairly obscured by supports on the ceiling. Without more than a nod, he took Lois’s elbow and wrapped her around his neck.

“Hold on tight,” he whispered before leaping silently into the air.

With his one free arm, Mon-el grabbed a support beam just to the side of the metal floor. Lois climbed onto it first before he gently landed next to her. Both crouching, they looked back down to see two armed guards walking past where they had just been.

“I should bring you more often,” Lois remarked with a mischievous grin.

Mon-el was about to reply when a familiar voice screeched across the concrete room.

“Is it ready yet?”

All feeling seeped out of him as he looked down to see Lillian Luther marching into the room with each step demanding attention. Even from above, he could see her chin angled upward as she spoke to one of the mechanics standing next to the machine. The poor guy couldn’t help the shake in his voice which Mon-el could empathize with. Except his was from rage.

“Yes, Ms. Luther,” the man said, trying to control his voice as much as possible, “We had to recalibrate the output ratios after you told us about Supergirl, but everything is being finalized now.”

“Get this thing out there now,” Luther order without even a hint of gratitude. “We’ve been granted a rare opportunity to deal with both Kryptonians at once, and I will not let it pass by.”

Mon-el didn’t realize he was tense until Lois put a reassuring hand on top of his whitening knuckles. He had been gripping the metal railing so hard that it had been crushed to half its diameter. When he peeled his fingers off, they left a palm print detailed enough to see each line of his skin. Lois’s eyes were locked on him trying to silently calm him down, but Mon-el’s attention had been caught by the device again. One of the workers had turned a dial so that Lillian Luther could inspect it, and it caused an eerie dim light to seep out of the cracks of the core structure that sent his stomach back to the floor. It was green.

The moment Mon-el’s gaze met Lois’s widened eyes, they inaudibly agreed to move. They had to warn Clark and Kara about the device and how Lillian was going to lead them into a trap. Even if they didn’t know all of the details, Kryptonite was nothing to mess around with, and he couldn’t bear letting Lillian hurt Kara with it again. Lois nodded slowly before leaning back to stand.

“Hey!”

A Daxamite curse slipped out of Mon-el’s mouth as he spun around to see the same two guards stepping onto the catwalk from a door he had failed to notice. Kara’s warnings of always being vigilant pushed through all of the internal scoldings, but he had to silence it all before he made a rash decision. He spun back towards Lois and basically shoved her into a run.

Bullets started flying immediately, but they must not have been made of lead because Mon-el felt a few tear through his shirt and bounce off his back. He usually would have been relieved at this, but Mon-el was painfully aware that Lois was just a normal human. He was pretty sure her only weapon was her sharp tongue and that wouldn’t help if he let a stray bullet get past him. So he made himself as large as possible to act as a shield behind her and ran toward the end of the catwalk. They were positioned higher than the open door, but thankfully there was a dusty looking window which Mon-el could easily smash through with Lois. Again, he’d need to be careful with all the glass, but he was pretty sure she would rather take her chances with that over the guns behind them.

When they were only fifteen yards from the window, Mon-el sped up and swept Lois up in his arms. She seemed to immediately know what he was doing as she curled herself into his chest, therefore, reducing the amount of skin a risk of glass shards. Mon-el took a deep breath and was about to speed rush them to freedom when he heard a cable snap.

The metal floor dropped out from under him, and they began to tumble down to the cement floor. Lois let out a cry of surprise, but he hardly heard it before his shoulder made a hard impact with the far wall. His forward momentum combined with the sudden introduction of gravity had hurled them straight into the cement wall below his intended target. He could hear the blocks grind together as they slid but it wasn’t enough to break through. He only had a second to angle his fall backward so that he would take the brunt of the stone floor and cushion as much of the force as possible. Lois’s small frame pushed against him, but he was relieved to feel her bounce off without any contact with the floor. He hadn’t been hurt exactly, but Mon-el must have hit his head because his eyes began to flicker in and out of focus.

By the time he was able to shake off his disorientation, they had already been surrounded by four pointed guns. He was still lying flat on his back when one of them grabbed Lois by the elbow and ripped her off of him with great protect. She was screaming and kicking the guy, but Mon-el went cold when the barrel of a gun was pushed against her head. He sprung up with every intention to tackle him when a horrible chuckle stopped him cold.

“How delightful.”

From the line of guns immerged Lillian Luther wearing the most disgusting smirk Mon-el had ever seen.

“I didn’t expect to meet you two here today,” the woman said as if running into them had been a present surprise. It sickened Mon-el to think of the woman and what she considered as fond memories they shared. Lois was right though. She was happy to see them.

“What are you doing in Metropolis?” Mon-el demanded, despite being in no position to be asking questions.

“I thought I’d stop by to visit my son,” she replied as matter of fact.

“Is that where you got Kryptonite?” Lois shot before the guard dug the gun deeper into her temple.

“Miss Lane,” Lillian practically gleamed as she turned to approach Lois. “It’s good to see you again.”

If Lois’s glare had been as sharp as it looked, she would have been able to cut through Lillian like paper. For a moment, Mon-el was afraid she was actually going to lunge at the woman, but she seemed to rethink the idea and instead threw more words.

“You’re not going to get away with this. You already failed taking down Supergirl, what makes you think you can take her out both her and Superman?”

Lillian only seemed amused by Lois’s boldness. “Let’s just say this time there’s less… theatrics.”

Mon-el saw one of the mechanics approach Lillian. “Ms. Luther, everything is ready to begin.”

“Good,” she gave him a short glance before staring at Mon-el intently. 

“Begin the operation and tie these two up.” Lillian stepped in front of him and leaned in. “I think I still have your girlfriend’s necklace.”

Had two guards not grabbed his arms, Mon-el would have thrown Lillian into the harbor. He struggled against them but had to stop when Lois began to fight hers. The woman’s smile only widened before she stepped away and disappeared out of the hanger door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aw yeah. The plot has struck! This action scene has been a bit harder for me this time around but I hope I was able to iron out the kinks a bit ^.^ Thanks again for being SUPER patient! School's being as wonderful as always and it just depends on me and my Beta's motivation levels. Anyway, let me know if you like how it's going! Honestly, every comment makes my day and I'll even try to reply every once and a while! Hope you enjoyed it, lovelies <3


	7. Chapter 7

“You okay Kara?”

She plopped a pot sticker into her mouth before accidentally letting you eyebrows slip closer together. Clark had taken her to a wonderful little Chinese restaurant downtown where they picked up enough food to feed an army, and decided to eat it in front of the Superman Monument. The sun had warmed the air to the perfect temperature and brought forth inviting colors all throughout the park. The dark marble of the monument sent bright streams of light over to Kara and Clark's bench and was occasionally obscured by the children running amongst the pillars. The area was so peaceful, Kara had easily fallen silent as she ate her take out and enjoyed the welcoming ambiance.

“I’m fine,” she claimed with a quick glance to Clark, “I was just thinking it was really nice the city did this for you.”

Clark returned her smile but didn’t look convinced by her excuse. He sighed before looking out toward the stone carving of their family crest. “Yeah, I tried to say no when they told me they were building it. It seemed a little excessive for a thank you.”

“Well it’s not like they could send a gift card,” she teased with another pot sticker in her mouth.

“True,” he said suddenly more somber, “But we don’t really do it for thank yous.”

Kara could only nod before turning back to watch the same group of children running past them. One of them had tucked a red blanket around her neck and was chasing the others through the granite. Their laughter bounced off the stone melodically and Kara found herself infatuated with their little game. It wasn’t everyday Kara could sit back and see the influence she and her cousin had on everyday people. Seeing these kids play as their favorite hero suddenly made Mon-el’s worry even more ridiculous in Kara’s head.

“Clark,” Kara found herself finally asking, “What do you think of Mon-el?”

Apparently taken aback by the question, Clark’s eyebrows shot up as he worked to swallow his food. “What do you mean?”  
“This morning…” Kara bit her lip. Suddenly the thought of saying it out loud made her feel a bit silly in front of her cousin. But she had already opened her mouth so she told him, “Mon-el’s worried you don’t like him.”

The chuckle that escaped Clark’s mouth caused Kara to look at him. There was a gleam of amusement in his blue eyes as they leaned back toward the sky. Whatever he was thinking caused his smirk to widen as he apparently realized something.

“Is it because of where he’s from?” he asked.

“That, and the fact he thinks you’re super protective and would melt his face in if he upset you.”

Clark let out a deep chuckle. “What about you? Do you think I would do that?”

Kara didn’t mean to hesitate. She felt bad when words caught in her throat like a wad of cotton. Logically, she knew that Clark would never use his powers to harm another person. He was too much of a boy scout to really even use them for anything other than the protection of others. But there was just something in the back of her mind. Pressing on her like the pea under the mattress. Kara was Clark’s only blood relative. Even if he didn’t get to see her much, she knew that Clark would do anything for her. And that little bit of her thought maybe even hurting Mon-el.

“I don’t know,” she blurted out before she could form better words. “I mean, not without a good reason, but… I don’t know.”

The silence between them was strained. She could almost feel the gears grinding in Clark’s head. They were creaking as he tried to process this new information but steadily gaining speed. After a moment, his slipped his smile back on.

“Honestly, I like him.” He laughed at Kara’s astonished face. “I do. He gets along with Lois, which is no small feat, and he seems to really care about you. I mean he has to if he’s so worried about getting my approval.”

“So…” Kara took a moment to form her thought, “You do approve?”

Clark laughed. “It doesn’t matter Kara. He makes you happy. It doesn’t matter whether I agree or not. As long as you approve of him, so do I.”

Kara couldn't help the goofy smile that bloomed across her face. The warmth from Clark’s eyes along could have forced Kara to embrace him, but his words? It was poetry. She didn’t even know how to respond.

“Thanks, Clark,” she settled on.

He looked like he was going to say something else, but a loud siren filled the air. Both Kara and Clark’s heads snapped to see a large party of firefighters and police cars racing down the street as fast as traffic would allow. They stood up in unison.

“They’re headed toward the harbor,” Clark told her as they quickly headed toward a line of trees.

“I should call Mon-el,” Kara said already unbuttoning her shirt.

“Good idea, and uh Kara,” he smirked at her before taking off his glasses. “Even though I like him, I would do something if he breaks your heart.”

Kara laughed. “Thanks.”

* * *

Nth metal was a lot lighter that Mon-el would have guessed. Despite it being the strongest material in the universe, it couldn’t have weighed more than usual rope as its chain wrapped around his arms and torso. If he hadn’t been familiar with the material, Mon-el would have assumed the pole pressed against his back was made of a sturdier material. It almost made it worst. To be confined to such a deceptive material. It kept his blood pulsing and tricked his muscles into thinking they could rip free at any moment. But every time Mon-el tried he only reminded himself that once again he was not the hero that Kara saw.

Luther had left with the device nearly an hour ago, but Mon-el’s mind was still racing with every emotion in his body. He had to constantly suppress his fears for Kara and the dirty trap she would be flying into. It was extremely difficult but he forced himself to focus on his surroundings. His back may have been facing the hangar door but he could still see a large chunk of the room. Lois was hand cuffed to a low horizontal pole along the wall to his right. She had nearly torn her shoulders out of socket when they first locked her hands behind her back but eventually, she did settle down into a hard stare. To his left chatted the four remaining guards playing cards on the other side of the room. The entire building had quieted once Luther had left to set her trap, but Mon-el was still mentally screaming for himself to think of a plan.

A small tapping noise suddenly distracted Mon-el from his surveillance of the room. It was far too faint to be heard by a human, but it was still loud enough for Mon-el to follow its scraping sound. His eyes directed themselves toward it and found that they lead toward Lois.

“Hey,” Mon-el hissed as quietly as possible. Lois’s arms stopped twitching behind her and she looked up at him, “What are you doing?”

“Trying to get us out of here,” she replied before the noise continued. Mon-el could now hear it was metallic like a smaller piece was rubbing against a larger one. He couldn’t imagine what she could be doing with her hands clasped so close together behind her. “How much can you move in that thing?”

“Hardly at all,” Mon-el admitted. He’d already twisted himself in all directs trying to find a weak spot, but all he had accomplished was hurting his muscles.

Lois sighed. “I’m sorry I got you into this. I should have warned you sooner.”

Mon-el attempted to shrug. “Too late to worry about that now. But we have to warn Kara and Clark.”

A loud ping rang out across the hanger and Lois froze. Mon-el watched with bated breath as one of the guards glanced back at them and gave Mon-el a hard glare. Every fiber of his body tensed as he forced himself to match the man’s stare until he turned back to their game. Lois audibly sighed next to him before moving her legs to a new position.

“I’ve seen that design before,” Lois told Mon-el as if her escape attempt hadn’t almost been blown. “It’s a bomb meant to look like an electric transformer.”

“A bomb?” Mon-el’s heart dropped.

“It’s disguised like that to make transporting it easier. Also so it can blend it with regular shipments. I saw it once while at Lex Corp.” 

A small click set a satisfied smile on the woman’s face. With a wiggle of her arms and a strained leg moment, Mon-el watched in amazement as Lois slipped her cuffs off of the suddenly dislodged pipe and stepped through them so that her hands were in front of her. At first, he was disappointed to see her hand still bound together, but when she crept her way closer he realized what she was planning. He took a quick look at the guards before taking the chain between her wrists and crushing it with one hand. The relief of Lois’s freedom washed over Mon-el but it was quickly bogged down with the weight of his own chains. She seemed to realize this as she picked a hair pin out of her hair. 

“No,” Mon-el hissed as before she ducked behind his column. “Get out of here. You have to warn Kara.” 

“I’m not going to get very far if I’m being shot at,” she insisted as she worked on the collar being used as a lock, “Besides, if we’re too late, you’re going to have to go after them.”

It didn’t take long for Mon-el to feel the chains loosen around him. At first, it was only an inch, and then all at once. A shot of panic raced through Mon-el as he watched the metal fall from his chest and clatter across the floor like an alarm. It only took one cry from the guard before he kicked himself into high gear and burst out of his harnesses. Bullets starting flying almost immediately, but he was so hyped up on adrenaline, he had picked up Lois and raced out the hanger door before he knew where he was going. 

Lois eventually screamed for him to stop. Another potent stench of burnt rubber filled the air as Mon-el skidded to a stop all the way back to the main docks. The sun had dropped drastically to signal the end of the work day, but the area was just as populated as before. When he put Lois down, he had taken this as a good sign but his heart dropped when he saw a crowd was headed in the same direction. After that, it was hard to miss the cloud of smoke drifting up from the harbor.

“We’re too late,” Mon-el gasped. 

Lois was breathing heavily next to him. She was about to say something when a loud boom blew back both their hair. Mon-el looked up and saw two caped figures racing toward the smoke. 

“Not yet,” Lois said before turning to him. For the first time all day her eyes had filled with intense distress. It was so jarring to see her just as disheveled as he that for a moment he was locked in place before she screamed, “Go! You have to go now!”

Mon-el shook his head to shake out as much panic as he could. His heart was racing with so many emotions, it was threatening to burst from his chest. Everything was happening so fast, but one thought stuck out among them all. Kara was in danger. 

With one last breath, Mon-el sped off toward the dock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry and Thank you for being patient. I didn't get to run this one through an editor but I hope Grammarly got the worst of it. I promise I haven't abandoned this and I'll try to finish it as soon as possible. Thanks again.


	8. Chapter 8

Kara should have known something was wrong when she landed on the yacht’s deck. There were no civilians. No seeable damage. She couldn’t even see Clark as he dove down the side of the boat in an attempt to laser the hull back together. It was odd and Kara should have seen all the signs, but she didn’t. She was single-mindedly focused on making sure the boat didn’t cause an even bigger explosion. So, she ignored everything and stumbled across the cluttered deck until she found a door. 

* * *

Clark spotted the gaping hole despite the murky harbor water. It looked suspicious, to say the least, but unfortunately, he didn’t have enough time to inspect it thoroughly. Kara was already trying to clear the deck and her job wouldn’t get any easier if he let it sink further into the populated harbor. He had nearly finished when the entire ship suddenly lurched forward as something made impact. Concerned, Clark stuck his head out of the water to find Mon-el leaning over the railing to scream at him. 

“It’s a trap!” the Daxamite yelled over the roaring flames. “Lillian Luther has a massive Kryptonite bomb on here to kill you and Kara!” 

It took a moment for him to possess Mon-el’s frantic words, but when he did, Clark nearly cursed. Of course, this was a trap. Why wouldn’t it be a trap? “Kara’s inside!” 

Mon-el swore in Daxam before he pushed off the railing and disappeared into the blinding flames. 

* * * 

Below deck was quickly filling with water. Kara had sloshed through the brown liquid until she turned the corner. This hall was angled upward so that the far end was still dry. At that end, she could see a room with the door hung ajar. She could make out something large just on the inside, but it was too dim to identify. Slowly she approached. Whatever it was it didn’t look like something that should be on a party boat. In fact, as she got closer, it looked like it should be sitting on top of a telephone pole. Suddenly, after she stepped out of the water, she felt an ominous wave of foreboding wash over her. Her gut finally recognized the oddness of the situation and screamed that something about this was wrong. She should have listened, but her feet kept moving higher into the tilting hall. Her eyes kept drawing her closer to the large metal object in the middle of that room. It looked harmless, just out of place. But it was just so out of place. It should not be there. She was confused and oddly transfixed on the object. So much so, that she didn’t hear the movement of water until someone grabbed her wrist and the object began to tick. 

But then it was too late. 

* * *

The explosion hit Clark like a wall. Well, a wall if he was human it had been charging him at the speed of light. It wasn’t the biggest fireball that had ever swallowed him, but it was the first one that burned a sickly green color. His vision was the first to go as the emerald flames licked over his body and slammed him backward and upside down. He probably would have been disoriented if he could think of anything beyond the all-consuming burning that was sapping energy out of every cell in his body. He’d never felt this intense of pain before. It was like his entire being was being extracted out of his bones molecule by molecule. He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t think. The only thing he knew was the burning and that was all before he graced the dock with a new crater. 

Voices were shouting once the dust had settled, but Clark didn’t hear them. The flames in his ears demeaned he listen to every muscle fiber wither under its touch, and to bear witness as inched closer and closer to his nervous tissue. The burning around his mouth had slid down his throat and had slithered its way down to his lungs. Air couldn’t get in, but if it did it would have only fed more oxygen to the pain. There was a shadow floating over his eyes, but it was covered in ever darkening spots. A sudden and deep pit of fear dropped hard on his chest. Was this how he was going to die? Helpless and writhing on the seashore. It seemed rather peaceful considering the other times he had almost died. He had just hoped that maybe he would have helped a few more people in the process. 

Before he knew what was happening, Clark had swallowed gallons of water. Tons and tons of the liquid had somehow angled itself to dowse the man as such a high speed, it nearly launched him back into the harbor. 

But it didn’t. 

It was forcing the flames off. The film over his eyes began to clear and the strength began to return to his arms. His lungs dulled to an itch and his thoughts began to realign. The world rejoined reality, and he began to process it. There was a firetruck. It kept back a crowd of people watching as it held its hose pointed and sprayed him with water from a nearby hydrant. He also realized wasn’t wearing a shirt but he could see it along with his cape. It was just inside the line of people being held very tightly.

“He’s waking up!” 

His cape hit the ground just before the water turned off and Lois came bolting to Clark’s side. She was wet and covered with filth, but looked unharmed. She knelt next to him and his lungs tried to expel the last bit of dust from his lungs through a violent coughing fit. He was dizzy, but slowly, Clark began to feel his body begin to level out. 

“Superman?” 

Clark nodded in an attempt to communicate, but it was lost in another rush of coughs. The burning of his skin was gone, but he had a feeling that the bits in his chest were going to be there a while. 

“Clark,” Lois tried again this time in a whisper. 

“I’m okay,” he finally spat out. He took a death breath before finally making eye contact with Lois. The terror in her eyes was not lost on him. Her eyebrows had creased back in a wide arch and the filth on her face parted where tears had run. She may not be openly panicking as Clark suspected she had been, but her fear was not gone. It only took a moment, before he felt his own drop in his stomach. “Kara?”

There was a collective cry behind them. Clark’s head spun to see a small fishing boat out toward where the yacht had been. The three men aboard were pulling a terrifyingly pale looking Mon-el out of the water and dropping him behind them. Clark was so shocked at the sickly appearance of the Daxamite that he nearly missed the men turning back and pulling Kara out. 

“Supergirl.” 

Clark tried to stand but immediately had to lean on Lois who had anticipated his movements. 

“No,” she said in as gentle a voice she could manage given the situation. “You’re still weak from the Kryptonite.” 

“But, Kara-“ Clark trailed off as he watched the boat reached the dock and a half-conscious Kara basically fell out. 

Despite Lois’s authoritative grip, Clark was still next to her in seconds even if he immediately collapsed next to her. She was shaking, out of breath and sobbing like Clark had never seen. Her eyes were locked on Mon-el who was being laid out in front of a group of paramedics rushing from behind the truck. Lois said something about staying with Kara before she too rushed to Mon-el whose heartbeat Clark could not find.  
“I-“ Kara stammered out through sobs. Clark was still stunned, but he put all his attention on Kara and fumbled to grab her hand. “I couldn’t touch him.” She sputtered, still unable to catch her breath. “I tried to keep him up but I-“

“Hey,” Clark whispered, before gripping her shoulders. He was surprised not to feel Kryptonite laced within her cape, but he shook the thought away. “Hey, he’s going to be okay.” 

“Wh-when the bomb went off,” she continued underneath a new stream of tears, “He-he wrapped himself a-around me.” Her lip trembled as she struggled to control it. “We-we were both under water, but-but I couldn’t touch him. I couldn’t get him to breath!” 

Clark’s heart broke as he finally made eye contact with his cousin. He could feel the raw terror racing through her veins and threatening to break her apart. It was so strong, she was only able to hold his gaze for a couple of seconds before completely shattering into his arms. 

* * *

Lois couldn’t tear her eyes away from the dying Daxamite. The man she had just escaped a Luthor warehouse with was now laying on cold cement as four EMTs buzzed around him trying desperately to keep his slowing pulse. She tried to be helpful. She told them all she knew about his alien physiology, but nothing seemed to be working. They had started compressions, but they didn’t look very confident. He was tough, but Lois wasn’t sure he was tough enough to withstand a Kryptonite Bomb. 

She could hear Kara weeping behind her. It was the saddest thing she had ever heard and it only made Lois’s growing anger flare. He couldn’t die like this. Not blown up by the likes of Lillian Luther. He couldn’t let her win. He couldn’t let that witch succeed in destroying Kara. 

“Come on Mon-el,” she whispered. “You have to get up. We still have to stop Lillian.”

The AED attached to his bare chest altered the EMTs it was going to shock and they responded in tow. They pushed her and themselves back as the little box assessed the alien. It buzzed until someone yelled clear and pressed the button. 

“You have to get Kara to stop crying,” Lois pleaded her voice still quiet. She jumped when the shock pulsed through his heart and caused his upper body to leap off the ground. He was still terrifyingly still when he hit the ground and the AED declared another shock was needed. It began to charge again but Lois’s eyes squeezed shut and new tears fell free. “Get up Mon-el.” The buzzing was sharp before the button was pushed. “Get. Up.” The shock was delivered.

With the loudest gasp, Lois had ever heard, Mon-el’s eyes burst open. They shot around and tried to grasp something that made sense. Lois held her breath as they finally landed on her and for a split second, she saw panic wash over his face. It only lasted for a moment however before his eyes squeezed shut and he heaved over to empty out all the liquid in his body. The EMTs looked shocked, but they held it together enough to role Mon-el onto his side and let him empty himself out. It was scary how much he was hacking. He contorted violently with each one, but the color in his skin was returning. Eventually, he was allowed to roll back over and look dimly at Lois. He didn’t seem to really see her. His breath was short and labored, but Lois could still see the question behind his eyes. 

“Mon-el!”

With the grace of a falling building, Kara came stubbing through the EMTs and crashed into Mon-el with a thud. Someone tried to tell her to be careful, but neither seemed to care as she lifted him up and forced him into a tight embrace. Mon-el looked stunned for a split second before relaxing into her arms. Mon-el couldn’t compete with Kara’s white-knuckled grip, but Lois could see the relief ripple through his body. His eyebrows relaxed and his eyes slid slowly closed. With her face buried into his neck, he gently kissed her hair before resting his own chin on her shoulder. They didn’t speak. They didn’t even look at eat other. They sat tangled together on the wet harbor floor reassuring the other that they were okay through touch alone. 

Eventually the tension consuming the dock did break. First, there was one voice calling out for space and then more in response. Someone stood next to Lois but she felt too exhausted to move. So much so she didn't protest when she was gently pushed to that person's side. 

"We'd better find him a doctor," Clark whispered before trying to cover a cough. 

"I'll call Professor Hamilton," Lois sighed fully resting against Clark's chest. "You aren't out of the woods either." 

"No," he agreed before planting a small kiss on the top of her head. "But it could have been a lot worst."

Lois's eye floated back to Kara and Mon-el. They hadn't moved from their place on the ground. Despite all the commotion, they were still holding each other in their own little world. "Yeah. Could have been a lot worst."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man, this chapter took FOREVER! I mean you'd think the scene that I built the entire fic around would be easier to write. I mean I'm not going to claim that this is my best chapter ever and my beta wasn't able to edit this one (like you didn't notice). But I promised I'd finish this fic and darn it that's what I'm going to do! I promise all my angst is over and we'll have some more fluff next chapter ^.^ We only have about two more so leave some comments if you want it to update faster!


	9. Chapter 9

The buzzing of the visiting room light was driving Lillian insane. She’d been waiting for Lex for at least twenty minutes and her blood had been boiling for the last hour. Who was he to treat her so coldly and make her wait? She was his mother for God’s sake and an ally as well. You don’t leave your partner to be sat at a dingy metal desk stewing in her own furry. She thought she had raised him better.

Finally, the door opened to reveal Lex walking in without so much as an apologetic look on his face. He sat down as comfortable as ever and looked across the table with a harp smugness in his eyes. 

“So your plan failed,” he stated not even caring to hide his smirk. 

“Don’t talk down to me Lex,” Lillian snapped. She crossed her arms as she narrowed her eyes at him. “The bomb may have failed this time, but I think it has proven itself to be a valuable resource for our cause.” 

“Our cause?” One of his eyebrows arched up along with his pitch. He lifted his chin before a fake sigh. “I’m not sure I can see what value you have after today’s fiasco.”

“I don’t see you out there bringing Superman inches toward dead,” Lillian snapped back before thinking better of it. “You need me just as much as I need you, Lex. We can get destroy the Kryptonians once and for all as long as we-“

“You don’t get it, Mother.” 

The frigid tone of his voice cut her off like a blade. Any undertone of affection that reminded Lillian of her son had suddenly been replaced by the coldness of a shrewd businessman. His folded hands placed themselves on the table as Lex leaned closer. He didn’t even look at her when he decided to speak again. 

“You want to get rid of the aliens in the literal sense of the world. You want to destroy them, shoot off into space… whatever works best in that moment for you. But what you’ve been unable to realize in all of your failures is that you can’t destroy them. At least not all of them and especially not the Kryptonians.

“Do you want to know what I’ve learned in all my encounters with the man of steel? His greatest power is not his strength, but his influence. The people of earth, in all their foolishness, admire him. Supergirl as well. They trust them to be the symbol of all good in this world and will be swayed to help them if they are called upon. You’re bomb worked perfectly, but because of the people, Superman and Supergirl are still alive. Without the Daxamite rushing in to warn them, or Lois organizing the crowd they would both be stained with green and at the bottom of the Metropolis harbor. Even the crowd was able to be controlled because of their love of those aliens overruled fundamental mob mentality. It is that approval that makes them so powerful and why you’ll never be able to get rid of them with a simple bomb.”

Lillian sat dumbfounded for a heartbeat too long. Many emotions raced through her head. Shock, anger, disbelief. But what she was mostly feeling was a large weight on her chest. Like Lex had physically hit her there. If he had noticed, Lex didn’t say anything. Instead, he striated his shirt and stood. 

“Send my love to Lena,” he added as he walked to the door. He paused for a moment and gave his mother one last look. “Assuming you don’t join me before then.”

* * *

“Well…” the doctor looking guy said with a smile, “It could have been a lot worst.”

Mon-el couldn’t help the sarcastic laugh that bubbled out from his aching lungs. It hurt like hell but it seemed his mood was the only part of him that wasn’t completely damaged. It had taken a while for him remember what happened before the entire harbor came spewing from his lungs. The whole boat thing was a blur until he got to Kara and saw her literally standing five feet from death. From there instinct took over and he was covering her in seconds. The actual explosion was completely wiped from his memory and he didn’t even remember being in the water. But he didn’t care about the details or even the fact that every breath felt like a stab in his chest. All he cared about, was the hand loosely fitting in his hand. 

“So he’s going to be okay?” Kara asked sounding as worried as ever.

“He’s not going to be able to do any superheroing for a while,” the man clarified, “but after a day or two on bed rest, he should be able to go home Monday.”

Mon-el didn’t have to see Kara’s lips press together to know she was frowning. She had had the same look on her face from the moment they had gotten back to Clark’s place and they had been sat in the guest room by Lois. She had called for this professor guy to look at all of them and had confiscated everything that could have been exposed to the Kryptonite. Mon-el had been shoved into his pajamas from the night before, and Kara was forced into the shower and into one of Clark’s old sweatshirts. She had been sat down in a chair next to Mon-el on the bed and told not to move unless the building caught fire. Clark had had a similar treatment but was still struggling to keep his lungs inside his chest. He was coughing so loud, Lois pulled out every home remedy just in attempt to keep him from blowing all their covers. In the end, they had to isolate him in his room and hope he didn’t accidentally bring down the walls.

“Looks like you’ll have to take another vacation day,” Mon-el chuckled before looking at her. 

She indeed was frowning, but one side was slightly turned ward. His own grin widened. 

“You’re thicker than most,” The professor continued as he began to pack up his things. “Most of the damage was from the water in your lungs. I’m very familiar with Daxamite physiology, but if you’re anything like Kryptonians I’m sure you’ll be fine.” 

“See,” Mon-el squeezed Kara’s hand, “I am as tough as you.”

Kara gave him a hard glance. “What about the Kryptonite?”

The professor stood and let out a deep sigh. “My guess is that the bomb acted more like an aerosol can than an explosive. It was more a way to disperse the Kryptonite than to cause any sort of burning force.” He paused before straightening out his coat. “I believe you only survived because he was shielding you and that he only survived because he’s a Daxamite.”

The long pause afterward was only broken by the sudden boom of Clark’s cough. The apartment actually shook and Mon-el heard the Kryptonian's strain as he tried to hold it in. It was apparently in vain however as soon Lois was leaning into the room with her own brows pressed together. 

“Um Professor Hamilton?” she said while sending Mon-el an apologetic look, “Sorry, but I think Superman’s going to bring down the entire building.” 

The Hamilton nodded before giving one more look at the couple. “Don’t do anything too strenuous.” He chuckled before passing Lois at the door. “Not that you’d listen to me anyway.” 

Lois smiled back at the professor before looking back toward Kara. “So good news?”

“I’m fine,” Mon-el replied before Kara could even take a breath, “though he did say we have to take a long weekend.” 

Lois smiled. “Too bad. I was planning on kicking you all out early.”

Mon-el grinned before the door frame shook from another cough from Clark. Kara sighed. “How’s Clark doing?”

Lois chuckled. “Oh, you know… stubborn. Itching to get back out there.”

“I know the feeling,” Kara said with a quick glance out the window. Mon-el knew she was thinking about Lillian and he squeezed her hand in an attempt at comfort. 

“Well your suites are still in their third round of the washer,” Lois warned obviously repeating herself, “And I’m not letting any of you back out there until I’m sure every bit of Kryptonite is gone.” 

As if to make a point, Clark let out the loudest hack yet which even made the bed frame shake. Lois glanced down the hall before giving one last hard look to Mon-el. “I’d better see how it’s going. You stay in that bed until we say otherwise okay?”

Mon-el chuckled and held his hands up. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll take this thing over your lumpy couch.”

Satisfied, Lois gave one last glare before disappearing down the hall closing the door behind her. 

Mon-el heard a sigh as Kara leaned back into her chair. He turned his head to look at her, but couldn’t do much else in the way of facing her. She had tipped her head back to lead on top of the chair and stare at him from the top of her nose. Her brows had finally released some tension, but she didn’t seem to be anywhere near relaxed. She hadn’t said much after they had left the harbor, but she refused to be too far from him either. It was obvious to Mon-el she was still weak from the explosion and he assumed worrying about him probably hadn’t helped too much. They held eye contact for a while before Mon-el sighed.

“You should go lay down.”

Kara finally smiled. She turned her head so that the side of her face leaned on the chair and her eyes met his directly. “Says the one who was blown up.” 

Mon-el shrugged but never lost his smile. “You heard the professor. I was aerosoled.” 

She let out a small huff before her smile faded. Her crystal blue eyes suddenly lost her usual light as they began to glisten. They were still slightly swollen from her tears at the dock, but beyond that, there was no visible sign she had been in any danger. 

“That was stupid,” she finally said as a fact. “I had no idea the bomb wasn’t going to kill you.”

“You know I don’t care,” he stated without a thought. He knew she didn’t want to hear it, but she was going to beat herself up unless he did. “I’d much rather be stuck on this bed for a couple days than the alternative.”

“But what if you weren’t,” she whispered as if afraid of her own words, “What if the last thing we would have done was fought?” 

No words came out of his mouth. Kara looked so small in her chair and all he wanted to do was hold her. So, to the pain of every muscle in his body, Mon-el sat up and forced himself to the other side of the bed. It hurt, his lungs forgot how to hold air for a moment, but when he resettled Kara was already slipping under the covers. 

“That was my fault,” he told her as she settled into the crock of his outstretched arm. “I was the one being stupid in thinking I needed anyone’s approval of us.”

“You don’t care anymore?” she asked with one arm reaching across his chest. 

“No,” he replied. When she looked up at him in surprised he continued. “Sure it’d be nice to know that your cousin likes, but in the grand scheme, it doesn’t really matter. The only approval I really need is yours.”

Kara didn’t say anything for a while. She just stared at him for a bit before getting a big goofy smile. They both kind of giggled at each other for a moment before she finally reached up and pressed her lips against his. It was so sweet and warm, that Mon-el was almost mad at himself when Kara shifted her weight and pressed against his chest. 

“Ow,” he winced. 

Sadly, she shot up and away from him as if she was afraid to hurt him again. “Sorry,” she said with a grimace. 

“Don’t go,” he whined as he sat up next to her. 

“Mon-el you’re still hurt,” she insisted with her stern voice back on. “Lay back down, I'm going to see if Lois is done with my suite.”

“Oh no,” Mon-el pouted, “If I’m stuck in this bed, you can’t go back out there.”

“Mon-el….” She sighed. 

“Nope.” With a motion that would probably keep him in bed for another day, Mon-el reached around Kara and pulled her back down on the pillow. The screams of his bruises were only masked by the laugh Kara let out and the smile she gave him when she finally conceded. 

“Fine,” she relented. She gently snuggled up to him, this time being very careful not to press down on any of his limbs. “But only for a little bit.”

“A nap,” he countered already feeling his eyes heavy. 

“If I fall asleep I’ll be here all night,” she argued but only half-heartedly. 

“That’s okay,” Mon-el smiled as he closed his eyes, “That couch out there is horrible anyway.”

She laughed before sighing heavily into his shirt. She was like a furnace next to him and warmed up the blanket to the perfect temperature. Fatigue must have hit them both like a wave because it didn’t take Kara long before her breath evened out and she drifted off. Mon-el was just about to follow her when he heard a slight creak in the doorway. 

Mon-el cracked his eye open just enough to see Clark filling up the doorframe. He looked better than Mon-el would have thought and was holding a mug of something steaming. It was funny how non-threating he looked in his night clothes. With his glasses and a baggy shirt, Clark actually looked like a normal guy overcoming a cold. They held eye contact for a moment, assessing each other after their bad afternoon, before Clark gave him one solitary nod. Mon-el met it with a smile as Clark took a step back into the hall. 

It only took a moment for exhaustion to pull Mon-el’s eyes back shut. There was an odd feeling bubbling in his chest but he was too close to sleep to name it. He fell asleep seconds later, strangely happy and thinking it had been a pretty good weekend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And after the WORST writer's block or my life, a horrible finals week to cap the semester from hell, and the complete heartache of the season 2 finale... WE FINALLY MADE IT! XD If you all have stuck with me this long I can only assume you are all angles because this has been a ride. But it because of all of you lovely people I was able to finish it at all and I really appreciate all the love and support you've given me for only 9 chapters of content. You've been absolutely wonderful and I couldn't ask for more lovely people to read my work ^.^ I'm sorry I couldn't get a beta for these last few chapters but don't be afraid of letting me know about any mistake you find. Please please comment because I'm just so thankful to you all and I promise I'll be responding to every single one of you! I'm a bit burned out on ideas but maybe if you have one, let me know and I might do something with it ;) You can find me on tumblr @iaintnosidekick if you ever wanna fangirl or just need to talk. Thank you so so much and from the bottom of my heart GOD BLESS YOU <3<3<3  
> PS: I'm considering finding someone to do fan art. Lemme know if that's you or if you know someone ^.^


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